Hogwarts Seminar
by The Tainted Gatekeeper Lucero
Summary: A new class has opened at Hogwarts. An experimental one where students are taught to utilize their transfiguration abilities. In essence, it explains why the marauders are able to transform into their Animagi. O.C. centeric


Hogwarts Seminar

Wandering down the steps and out of his personal Ravenclaw dorm, Lucero stifled a yawn and rubbed the last grains of sleep from his eyes. He'd showered and dressed for the morning despite the fatigue that still clung to him. Last night, he was working on an essay for his potions class. "The effects of Phoenix Tears and their properties in a potion." A rather droll topic considering that phoenix tears were only good healers and would instantly be corrupted when they come in contact with something other than broken flesh.

A few other students were dressed in their identical black robes and blue and bronze Ravenclaw shields as he descended from the sleeping chambers. Each of them varied in different shades of exhaustion. Teachers had given out loads of projects the weeks before, preparing for the start of another unit. In Transfiguration, students would focus on vanishing spells for their Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test. Potions would start draughts and ointments, Dueling techniques in Defense against the Dark Arts. Yet, few of the lower class students were awake; today, a select group of students would attend special classes for each subject. These classes were kept behind a shroud of mystery. Professor Minerva McGonagall had approached him and personally asked if he would be interested in attending the seminar. Most of the other students received letters at the dinner table last night. Today, the select group of students would attend an early breakfast and then be whisked away to their class for the rest of the day. Most of the students were between the years of fifth and seventh.

The walk down to the Great Hall was second nature. He did so unconsciencessly. The further away he got from his bed, the more exhausted he became. Despite Transfiguration, and Care for Magical Creatures, being his favorite subjects, he was seriously debating just turning around and going back to sleep. Yet, his feet continued to march even though his complaining and grumbling. Something was compelling him to go down to the Great Hall and attend this private feast.

There is a generally accepted fact among the Ravenclaw house that where ever Keefa McBride should seat himself there are to be two extra seats next to him. One to his left for his arranged wife, Anastasia, and one to his right for his best friend, Lucero Kayn. So when he walked into the Great Hall he never had to worry about a seat, because he would always sit next to Keefa. Anastasia was an awesome friend and gorgeous companion. She was very kind, considerate, enjoyed helping out with anything she could and even if she didn't admit it, she had a sense of adventure. Just what the other boys needed. On their first night at Hogwarts, they snuck out of their beds and explored the castle. Very few teachers were patrolling that night, which gave them ample opportunities to explore places they normally wouldn't be able to.

The three of them were discussing the classes when there was a disturbance among the Teacher's table.

"Welcome. Welcome." Dumbledore greeted as he got up from his throne like chair and stood before the owl podium. "I must extend my most sincere gratitude to each and every one of you here, this early morning. What you all are about to undertake will not only benefit future generations of wizards but also Hogwarts. Today, all I ask of you students, and facility, is to be extra lenient and to put forth all of your effort."

Normally if Professor McGonagall had a period of leisure before a class she would transform into a tabby cat and rest upon her desk and wait until the students arrived. Today, as the students arrived from the Great Hall, she was funneling them into her classroom, acknowledging every one of them, directing them toward their seats and trying to make them all move five times faster.

"Today," McGonagall began as she rushed to the front of the classroom. "We'll begin to study the Animagi transformation." Taking out her wand, she waved it over a pile of materials: inkwells, quills and rolled parchments. The stack began to hover and divide itself up among the thirty or so students.

"Each of the students in this class has expressed interest in Transfiguration. Should you succeed in mastering this art of transformation, each of you will gain a greater knowledge of both the natural world and the magical one." A beautiful, black, quill drifted down onto the roll of parchment in front of Lucero, the paper held shut by the wax seal of Transfiguration.

"If you should happen to fail or make a mistake during this series of transformations, you will be met with grave circumstances involving either death or terminal mutilation. I will be honest with you, this is a complex skill. And such, I will not tolerate any sort of misbehaving in my classroom, you will need your greatest level of concentration." From the corner of his eye, he could see McGonagall focus a hard stare on a single Gryffindor boy in the back of the room. 'James Potter.' After a few seconds of intimidation, she returned to her speech

"If you should fail in your endeavors, I will never ask you to even attempt such a transformation again. This process is incredibly risky. Once a student has mastered their Animagi and has been registered with the Ministry of Magic, they will be allowed to assume this new form whenever in Hogwarts. But, we will worry about that bridge later." Laid neatly upon the front of her desk, the students could see a neat little example of what they're desks looked like.

"To begin our lesson today, I'm going to test your abilities to incite incantations, transform objects, animate the inanimate and your understanding of both magic and Transfiguration. Your first task will be to transform anything you desire. The more difficult the spell, the more credit you will obtain. The second task will be to reverse your effects. If you are able to do any of this without movement of your wand or to even recite these spells within your mind, extra credit will be given. Should one of you students score above perfect, house points will be given in direct proportion to the excess amount of points. The third task will be for you to take a written exam, to demonstrate your knowledge of Transfiguration and the processes of becoming an Animagi. None of these tests will influence your grade in my class, yet if I find a less than satisfactory test, you will leave this exercise. I will call each of you out of the room for the first two tasks so that you cannot cheat off another student. Let's begin." Gathering up one of her personal quills, a pad of paper and having her chair follow her out, she motioned for Lucero to be the first to follow.

Without touching his quill or any other material, he took the edges of his cloak in hand and silenced his movements so as to not distract the other students. The door opened silently and he caught a glimpse of the Professor seated out in the courtyard; sitting in her chair, waiting for him. Lucero walked over but tried to think of a spell that would demonstrate his proficiency at Transfiguration. 'Animation, Transformation, Focus, Quantity of the Transformed, the Quality of the Transformed.' All instructions she had given to him in the past, all factors that she would use now.

"Now, Mister Kayn, what spell will you use for me?"

'_She'll also wish for me to return the object back to its original state__,__'_ He thought.

"I will be using a spell of my own creation. I call it 'Avoreum'," Kayn said, his voice quiet but still holding that slight essence of pride.

Even though she tried to hold back her expression, Minerva couldn't hold back a slight smile. Lucero was one of her best students; of course he would have designed a spell of his own. She admired his tenacity to use something of his own creation.

"What are the consequences of your spell?" She asked inquisitively. Although she would inquire this to every student, she was exceptionally curious as to the results of his personal one.

"Well," Lucero started. "This transfiguration causes nearby stones to be transfigured into birds. The sizes of the birds are determined by the rock. However, I control which rocks I wish to transform, the species of bird and the area of my spell."

"Very interesting. And do you know how to reverse it?"

"Yes," He replied. With an incline of her head and wave of her hand, she motioned for him to begin.

Lucero took a few steps into the center of the courtyard and began to spy for possible targets for his spell.

The actual area he had to work with was relatively nice. There were a few larger boulders covered with moss and plants, much too large for him to transform. However, the cobblestones could possibly work for his purposes along with the smaller rocks thrown into a nearby fountain. With his targets in mind, he fixed his focus upon them and recited the spell within his mind.

_'Avoreum,' _

At first, there was a simple quiver of energy around him. The faintest crackle and rustle of energy being released from its shackles. Then, everything began to happen at once. A few cobblestones and rocks, both at the bottom of the water and scattered around the fountain, began to glow white, shrink and condense into a small oval structure. The eggs, just as soon as they formed, began to shake and roll. Factures split the eggs into two halves and the chicks stuck their heads out. The two shells began downy feathers and the ugly bald things began to grow. The small chick remained as its cute counterpart for but a moment before the soft downy became hard, streamline, feathers. The birds, of varying colors and sizes, took to the air and began to fly around their creator. Lucero remained stoic, yet inside he was ecstatic. The astonishment quite visible on her features before she began to scribble comments down upon her clipboard.

_'Muerova,' _

Inside his mind, the spell felt as natural as the first. He felt the energy around him move and shape itself and watched as his first spell was reversed. The twenty or so petite birds flew back to their original positions as rocks and lay down. Their bodies expanded in areas and shrank in others. The vast, heavy, cobblestones were replaced and the birds were gone.

Without looking up from her clipboard, she said. "Go back into the classroom and begin your test."

The rest of the bell passed rather uneventfully. The test was even more boring than an Arithemacy O.W.L. Basic questions about Transfiguration, the Five Laws of Transfiguration, what spells do what, what should happen if one should attempt to transform another thing without proper instruction and an essay about the proper technique of Transfiguration. Before long, Minerva was back in her classroom; grading completed tests and trashing others. A small group of students never returned from going outside. Apparently, she'd dismissed them directly after they bungled their spells. She even sent slips of paper to completed students if they passed or failed and if they could stay or not. Those were asked to leave packed up their things and were dismissed. To those that passed and were admitted into the next stage, she asked that they wait quietly for the rest to finish. Finally, as Lucero was going over his test for the tenth time, Minerva called the rest of the students to attention and took all of the remaining tests, including his.

"First off, the students that have left will not be returning and a few more will not be joining us for our next session back." The students squirmed in their seats. McGonagall was not pleased but she was hiding it well.

"In general, I feel like I made the right choice about bringing you all here. However, I will emphasize that each and every one of you will be pushed to your limits and I'd like to reiterate a point I made earlier. The next few tasks will get harder as the sessions go on, exponentially so, and others will be even dangerous. All of you are in danger in this class and I'd like to remind you that you all may quit without fear of being mistreated or feeling ashamed for leaving." She stopped for a moment to let the power of her statement to sink in before she returned to her seat.

"Now, I'd like to see Enki, James Potter, Nagendra Ophion, Ray King, Keefa McBride and Lucero Kayn. Enki, if you'd please wait here. The rest will wait outside. This won't take more than five minutes. Those that I didn't call may return to the Great Hall." McGonagall peered over top of her spectacles and made sure that each of them had heard their names and silently dared them to skip their meeting.

All of the students filed quickly out of the classroom. Many of them darted down to the Great Hall to discuss what occurred in their classes. However, all of the students that she'd told to stay hovered about the door. Each of them made frequent glances at both the Sun and the large wooden door. Finally, Enki emerged; smiling from ear to ear. Apparently, whatever she had to say was positive. But all of their spirits were dashed when Nagendra, the next to be called, exited, furious and blushing madly. He was told to not return. James went after him and followed by Ray. The tradition was kept of congratulating the first person and dismissing the second. Lucero's stomach took a turn for the worse when Keefa was called instead of him. He was positive that he should have passed the test.

"It's your turn." Keefa said; his eyes down turned and his hopes of staying proved to be untrue.

Pushing the large door open, he stepped inside to see the Professor sitting at her desk. She waved her wand over the stack of parchment, whispering multiple spells into the paper. First, they formed an exact copy and then the copies distributed themselves amongst the desks. The originals were bound in thick cord and were set off to the side of her desk. His, with the beautiful blue ink, was laid on the desk. There wasn't a single mark on the entire sheet. McGonagall's face, however, told the whole story. She was smiling, brilliantly.

"You've received top marks, Mr. Kayn. You've greatly impressed me, not only by creating your own spell but also remembering all of your past transfiguration lessons. You've earned Ravenclaw two hundred house points. Half of those are the bonus points from the test while the rest are simply because you've deeply impressed me. If you continue this level of work, you will find this particular skill to be of the highest value."

Lucero's heart swelled and soared. This was beyond what he was even expecting and ever could. He was ecstatic to say the least.

"Now, if you please, I must contact the Headmaster and deliver these scores to him." Flicking her wand at the originals, they followed behind her as she left the room with him at her side.

Lucero descended the stairs and corridors in a flash. He was so excited that he would be allowed to stay, that he was so skilled in Transfiguration and that he would be allowed to continue a process that she said he would like. It was a few moments before he was inside the Great Hall chatting with Keefa and Anastasia. Anastasia, like him, were informed of their brilliance and were asked to stay. The three laughed and enjoyed their break, but were forced to separate as the teachers began to call for the beginning of the next session. Lucero got up and raced ahead of the rest; energized for another session.

"Thank you all for returning on time and not dawdling outside. We've limited time as you all know and while we wait for our guest to arrive, I'd like to begin to explain your next step."

"As many of you know, the founders after creating Hogwarts created the Sorting Hat to sort out students when the Founders were gone. The Headmasters of Hogwarts have obviously kept to the Founder's wishes. Yet, we've added something that some would call a security net. These seminars are not only to test the teaching capabilities of its teachers but also to make sure that the sorting hat is sorting students correctly. Some of these seminars will test your bravery, your drive, your intelligence, your loyalty and much more. Once all of the seminars have ended, students are given a week's reprieve so that each of the Heads of House can inspect the results of the tests."

"Quite right, Minerva." Every student whipped around in their seats to find Dumbledore standing there. His brilliant blue eyes peered over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

"Since the Animagi process is no longer taught at Hogwarts and most of you are not in your seventh year, few will know that, when properly conjured, the Patronus Charm will actually mimic the form one's animagi. To assist with the lesson, since I'm not a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dumbledore will tell you how to conjure a full bodied patronas in less than two hours."

"Thank you, Minerva. Let's jump right into this, shall we? As your Professor has mentioned, one's animagi appearance is mimicked in their Patronus. However, to conjure a Patronus is extremely difficult. The spell to create one is 'Expecto Patronum' and must be coupled with the happiest, most powerful memory in your arsenal.

"When these two are together, most students will create a small wisp of white smoke This is considered to be a patronus, even though it won't stand up to the weakest of dark loving foes. A level beyond these weak wisps is the shield or a much larger wisp. These can fend off most attackers and are capable of preventing Dementors from getting too close. A level beyond this is the full patronus or a partial. These can send any shadowy creature packing and when used correctly can even repeat messages. However, all we desire from this class is to get a glimpse of what you all will be transforming into. This skill tests even the mightiest of wizards and witches." The Professor took out his wand and pointed it at the ceiling.

"Expecto Patronum." A small bead of white gracefully exploded out of the tip of Dumbledore's wand and transformed into a gorgeous white phoenix, which perched upon his shoulder.

"Let's begin." He said and waved his wand over all of the desks. They moved to the corners of the room and formed a nice, even, pile that gave them room to work in.

Lucero was left clutching his wand trying to recall a positive experience. Casting a glance around the room, most students seemed to be doing the same: thinking. Each of them were trying to identify a powerful, happy, experience that would suffice in producing a patronas. His eyes eventually fell on McGonagall as she cast the spell and had three tabby cats erupt from the tip of her wand and wander around the room. The silvery organisms naturally seemed to emit positive feelings. When one passed him, he was reminded of what it felt like for her to give him such high praise about the first task. So he tested it.

"Expecto Patronum." He spoke, the words awkward on his tongue and not feeling as natural as his own wand. The patronus he produced was level 2; A powerful shield but nowhere near the full bodied.

"That's an excellent start, Mr. Kayn." Dumbledore stated as he walked by. "Perhaps a stronger memory next time or try to focus more on what made you happiest in your last memory."

Lucero lifted his eyes up to the bird on his shoulders. The phoenix fixed one eye hard on the teen before it opened its beak and cried. The song made his heart swell as if it were about to burst.

"Ho-o." The teen whispered. Ho-o was his best friend and animal familiar. It was a phoenix that the teen raised and hatched. The memories effortlessly floated into his mind and filled him. It was as if this creature's cry was the key that he needed to in order to open the lockbox of his mind.

"Expecto Patronum." The words were familiar and very different from their awkward cousins. They were filled with power and drive. The spell would work. There was no doubt. The patronus dragged itself out of his wand and perched there for a moment before taking off into the air. The gorgeous bird with its long plumage and heady song was obviously a phoenix. McGonagall turned her head towards Dumbledore who pointed to him. As if to prove his point, he dismissed his own patronas and summoned a new one. Yet, Lucero's remained to her astonishment. The two of them shared a patronas; it didn't mean that their animagi would be the same however. Dumbledore, being the wizen old sage, would have a thinner and frail looking one then the young and full phoenix that Lucero would be.

Looking over at the Professor, he saw that she wanted him to go and wait outside in the courtyard with the rest of those who'd already passed and produced a patronas. What felt like minutes of searching his soul for a memory was apparently half an hour of standing there. Out in the courtyard already were James Potter, Elizabeth Flint, and Artemis Titania. There were also three upper classmen that he didn't recognize. He slipped into the courtyard, obviously being scrutinized by every person there. None of them would have known that he had just produced a phoenix and nor did he know what any of theirs were. After waiting another thirty minutes, Enki, Hari Oliver, Apollo Leonardo and Cornelia Clara left the class room to join their ranks. McGonagall came out after dismissing the rest of the students to speak directly with them.

"I will warn you right now. The next task will be the hardest and I will be the most intolerant with tom foolery. You each will be attempting the transformation and will receive more specific instructions after your snack. Now please, move along. We will be meeting on the front lawn for the next session. If you don't show up on time, you'll fail."

Lucero burst into the Great Hall to find Keefa. He scanned over the Ravenclaw table but didn't find him. Taking a few curious glances across the other tables, he didn't see him there either. Simply assuming that he'd gotten there early, he plucked a seat at the end of the table and started eating some small things for the next task.

The wait was ridiculous. His stomach was beginning to do some violent flip flops as he continued to wait. The closer the hour drew, the closer he came to throwing up. Eventually, he just gave up waiting and left the Great Hall; less out of irritation and more out of fear of being ill. Something about the reduced number of students in the hall and the quiet atmosphere made his skin crawl and unnerve him. He evacuated himself outside into the clean fresh air and allowed himself a few moments to simply calm down. The jitters passed when McGonagall stepped outside and began to create rings of white powder on the lawn. The rings were about ten feet across and were spread all around. None were crowded together. She even put one letter in each circle. However, one circle was missing. 'Maybe someone's dropped out or got sick.' He thought to himself.

"Each of you will have your own private circles. Once you've entered, sound from the outside will be cut off, expect for my voice. You will not be able to see another student once they've entered their respective seal and they will not be able to see you. Everything is done so that you may focus solely on the process at hand. Since each of you know the animal for which you are to transform into, you will attempt to force yourself into that form. The process itself is very similar to Disapparation. I recommend that you start off with a sudden movement such as a snap of one's fingers or to spin in a circle or to strike a pose, something to get the magic inside and around you moving. Now, that's all the instructions you'll need, so if you'll find the seal with the first initial of your name. Now, let's start."

Stepping inside of his circle, all sounds stopped. There was no noise, not even the squish of the earth beneath his feet. Silence reigned everywhere.

"First, some sort of movement." Lucero spoke to himself. There was no echo and the only thing he saw was McGonagall sitting on a rock a ways away. "A snap should be fine."

Focusing hard on a phoenix, specifically Ho-o, he began to identify every part of the creature. For example, the wings, the neck, the plumage, the talons, the legs, the feathers, everything that was on the bird. Once he felt confident, he snapped his fingers and simply let as much natural magic consume him. Yet, nothing happened. He tried again and again. But still, there was nothing. He attempted to spin a circle but only succeeded in making himself dizzy.

"Obviously," He said, "I've missed something in my original analyze. Or perhaps I must do something that a phoenix would naturally do." Looking up towards the sky, he thought of different things and decided to go with the most basic. He was going to try an' fly or at least do something similar. Crouching down low, Lucero could feel his nerves bunching up on themselves. Something was right. Whatever he was doing was right and he could feel it. Focusing hard on his Patronus and his familiar, he sprang into the air.

There was a moment when he felt immense dread. It wasn't right. The magic that he released was directed at the ground and not at him. That all changed when the searing pain hit him. He hung there in midair and felt a terrible fire ignite inside of his body. His arms retracted and black feathers began to sprout all across his frame. His entire body was shrinking and becoming so much lighter. After a few minutes, he fell from his perch in the air. Opening his eyes, the world was so much different.

"Now. You must do the same in reverse." McGonagall's voice came from all around. It was like being the sole focus of someone speaking with a Sonorus spell.

Doing as instructed, Lucero flapped his wings and took to the sky. Yet he came in contact with that same exact barrier as before. The central fire in his core cooled and a chill overtook his bones as pain filled him again while he began to grow back into a person.

His feet, in the end, hit the hard earth and he crumbled under his own weight again. When he awoke, he was sitting with his back against a rock with Minerva dispelling his circle.

"Congratulations, Mr. Kayn. You've passed. Now, please get some rest. There is still a few more minutes before the seminar is over." There was no need to beg. Lucero gladly passed back into unconscious's and was only disturbed again when a seventh year came and touched him on his shoulder.

Pointing the tip of her wand at the sky, gray sparks, silently, flew out to alert students that the time had run out and they were to be evaluated. Pride swelled within the teen's heart as he looked around and realized what had happened.

'I became an animal. I'm an animagi.' There were five others with the same face as he. They had all mastered the Animagi process and would be allowed to transform whenever they wanted. The transformation as a whole was a breeze compared to what he thought it would be. Getting to the point where one could do it by simply desire alone would be hard but the feeling of freedom, of power and of simplicity would be well worth any struggle. The animal world was not divided into Death Eaters and Aurors and Order members. It was a world that revolved around death and the struggle to avoid it. However, there was an unspoken fact about that world that none dwelled on. Everything dies. It was expected yet none tried to deny it. In fact animals made the most of their lives. It was amazing to feel such freedom. There was no fear, no worry, no anxiety. Everything was calm and peaceful. At least it was in the air. The earth bound creatures probably felt differently but this is what felt natural to him. Now, he viewed his soul, his life, differently. He was a person that had a longing for the gentle, positive, encouragement of others but was not dependent and could forge a path for himself without that. He would accept every moment and use them; never wishing to waste one.

"Good job, you six will return to the classroom while I summon Madame Pomfrey's assistants to collect these students. If you'd like, you may return to class in your animagi form but when I return we must begin to work. All school rules still apply." She said, catching the Cobra girl's eye and the Hawk kid's. Lucero closed his eyes and felt the wind beneath his wings, the heat of the fire inside him, the simplicity of the power inside of him while he was a phoenix. And before he knew it, the painful transformation had passed and his feathers were back and the wind was at his side. The flight back to the room was too short so he flew up to the rafters and took a perch there. He watched the door as the other students slipped in. Hari and Apollo walked in at the same time. Both of them massive creatures and flexed their muscles with each step. Artemis flew in and perched next to Lucero. Neither one of them felt uncomfortable with each other's presence. Elizabeth Flint, the blonde Cobra, slithered in last. Unlike with the others, something wasn't right about her. The rest of the animals also seemed to feel uneasy about her as well. Not long after, a tabby cat entered the room followed by the Headmaster. The cat looked pleased as if it had just snuck a piece of chicken off of someone's plate. Dumbledore looked as he normally did; content, prideful.

"All of you did amazing work today. Congratulations about finding that secret form and for discovering your true potential. I hope this experience has opened your eyes and that you will use this new power of yours correctly. Thank you for everything you've done. I've already sent each of your letters to the Ministry of Magic. Congratulations again and Good Night." He left the room and allowed the students to return to the dormitories. Artemis and he both took off with Apollo on their tails. At least until they encountered their first open window and the three Ravenclaws separated. Lucero did one circle of the castle before he flew into his bedroom window and collapsed on the bed sheet. The transformation was almost a moment late for as soon as he was back in his human shell, he passed out. The exhaustion, which had been building the entire day, finally overtook him. Peaceful dreams filled with flying and fires plagued him and kept all nightmares at bay.

Douglas Galbraith Page 10


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